


arms to hold me

by Maronedits



Category: Ghost Whisperer
Genre: Cute, Eli James is a puppy dog, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy, Getting Together, Melindas very sad, Mentions of Jim and Sam, Mushy, Sad, after Jim is Sam, cute stuff, kinda sad, romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-05 12:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20488808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maronedits/pseuds/Maronedits
Summary: Melinda's having a hard time with this whole Sam/Jim thing... Eli's always willing to help.





	arms to hold me

Saying that Melinda was coping with the fact that her husband didn't remember her and spirit was now in another body would be vastly overestimating how much she could emotionally take. She had been crying almost every day since this had happened, and it wasn't getting easier,  _ however  _ now she had her friends on her side and it did ease a level of stress she didn't. know she had.

Her biggest believer had surprisingly been Eli, who had been more than helpful during all of this. He was helping Sam (and Jim) all while also helping Melinda with the little bumps in the night that happened, and still trying to learn and understand ghosts and his newfound power. Needless to say, Melinda was grateful to have Eli, and she knew she didn't show it often, which is why she had invited him out to buy coffee and have a bit of lunch on his break.

It was mainly silent, they didn't have much to talk about - because for once they weren't meeting to talk about some ghosts, and Melinda just wanted to forget about Sam for a while. Eli was looking out the window at the busy street of Grandview and Melinda was looking at him, while sipping her tea and leaving the pastry she had bought for them forgotten on a plate.

Eli was handsome in a subtle way, though sometimes his side comments and joking attitude made it easy to forget it. Melinda had noticed it before, when Jim had been alive... hadn't been Sam, but of course, then, it didn't matter, Eli was simply someone she was teaching... A friend, nothing more, but after all this did she want it to stay like that?

"Melinda, Hello? Still with me?" Eli's voice broke through her thoughts making her lift her head slightly to show she was paying attention "vision?" he asked.

"No... No, I was just thinking, Sorry Eli what were you talking about?" she asked taking a sip of her tea.

"Oh, well I was just asking you why you invited me out?"

Melinda opened her mouth to answer before closing it and looking out the window to avoid looking at Eli, how did she say thank you to a man who had been so kind and patient with her since this Jim-Sam thing started? Even during the times she snapped and was a complete mess he made sure she was okay enough to take care of herself, bringing her to take out and distracting her with stupid stories that he heard around campus, doing his best to coax a smile or a laugh out of her. Thinking of the times Eli had shown up at all hours the morning because he heard from some ghost that Melinda wasn't doing great, it made butterflies flutter in her stomach, he cared about her, believed her, no doubt was there.

"I wanted to thank you..." she said still watching people pass the window of the small cafe "you've been so kind to me during all of this and there was no other way I could think to repay you so I thought some coffee and lunch would work... to at least verbally express my thanks to you" she finally met Eli's eyes.

Eli probably looked about as shocked as he felt. He wasn't expecting that, he figured Melinda had invited him out to ask about Sam or drag him on some other ghost adventure, but instead, he was just getting a nice lunch with Melinda and a genuine thank you from her. He smiled at her, he was okay with just a simple lunch with her.

"We can do something after this too... Deila's got the store on lock so I'm free all day, plus I don't know if I wanna go back home quite yet"

Eli nodded and thought for a second, he didn't want to send Melinda back home... not yet, the situation with Sam and his mixed memories was stressing her out more then she let on and he could tell that if she didn't get a small break this whole thing would  _ break  _ her.

"Well if you wanna help me grade papers then be my guest and come back to my apartment with me" He joked.

Melinda took a deep breath and smiled at Eli "Actually, something normal like that sounds nice" she said.

Eli again was surprised but couldn't help but let a smile spread across his lips before nodding. Eli liked spending time with Melinda more then he would admit out loud, he liked the creepy ghost adventures, he liked the hours and days spent bent over a computer with Melinda researching to find clues. He loved when Melinda got so tired that she'd fall asleep on his shoulder while they were looking at books together, and the chinese they ate together, and the fact that she memorized his coffee order so she could bring him a coffee when they got together. Most of all he loved that little spark in her eye when she finally crossed over someone, and the big smile on her face afterward, even if the smile was through emotional tears.

Eli hadn't picked up his apartment, there were several shirts and sweaters laying over a chair in his living room, empty to-go boxes that needed to be thrown away, several papers that he had printed out for Melinda and never got to throw them out once they were done with them, old answer keys, things that over all needed to be tossed. However the mess wasn't what Melinda noticed when she walked into the male's apartment, her eyes had drifted to the walls that had pictures on them, family members and...  _ Her.  _ From the time her and Eli found a photobooth and Melinda nearly shoved him in to take pictures, they were pinned to a corkboard filled with other pictures of them with Deila and Ned.

"Sorry for the mess," Eli said before following her gaze to the corkboard "oh, I'm not one for frames... or pictures if I'm honest but... I like seeing us all in the mornings sometimes... it's stupid-"

"No... its sweet Eli, I didn't think we meant this much to you"

"You mean everything to me," Eli said moving quickly to his desk to avoid looking at Melinda.

Melinda didn't know how to comment, however, a smile stayed on her face. It felt nice to be with Eli, he was simple most of the time, and despite sometimes being annoyed but his jokes, they sometimes managed to make her crack a smile

"I would suggest not grading papers but I really need to so..."

"I meant it when I said I'd help" Melinda grabbed the stack of papers from him and walked to the table sitting down.

Eli followed and sat down "okay, it's a simple worksheet anyway so all you need to do is look at the answer sheet" he placed the answer key where both of them could see it.

They were quiet most of the time, only speaking to one another when they were having trouble reading student's handwriting. Eventually, they moved to the couch to be more comfortable. They sat close, their elbows bumping as they wrote, Melinda leaned against his arm as she put down the paper she just finished grading.

"Okay! I finally had enough, my eyes are going buggy," she said.

"Lucky for you were done," Eli said as he finished grading the last paper.

"wait... Really?!" she sat up to look at the pile of work they graded.

"Yeah, we make a great team"

Melinda leaned against him again, maybe she was too emotionally exhausted to be around Eli at the moment but he felt like the right person to be around. For the first time in over a month she's been able to relax and just be okay.

"I can drive you home, you seem tired"

"Eli?" she ignored his offer

Eli hummed, trying to ignore how close she was to him, ignore the warmth of her back pressed against his arm, her head tilted back to rest on his shoulder.

"Can... Can you just hold me for a little bit?" she asked.

Eli looked at her, his heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. She looked so vulnerable, so tired, if she kept this up she was going to make herself sick, she needed a break from everything.

A part of Eli told him not to and to just take her home, however, there was a part that wanted to hold Melinda and not let go, that part won and he shifted on the couch, pulling Melinda into his arms. She shifted them so they had to lay down and Melinda was laying on top of him. He felt conflicted as he held her tightly in his arms, Jim was still alive - a part of him was Eli saw that just like Melinda did, but at the same time ever since he first saw Melinda his heart seemed to jump start, she had turned his world upside down, his gift, her gift, all the work they did together, every time her hand brushed against his while they were working, he knew that he felt something for her, even if he ignored it.

“Melinda?”

“Eli... Just don’t... I’m so tired” she said softly pressing herself closer to him, burying her face into his neck.

“Okay, come on” Eli sat up forcing her to let go of him as he did so, Melinda automatically looked hurt by him doing this “Let's just move to the bed, you need sleep” he explained as he got up, grabbing Melinda’s hand and pulling her up.

Eli kept her hand in his as he led her to his bedroom, surprisingly his bedroom was very clean, aside from the bed not being made, he never saw the point of making your bed just to mess it up again when you got in it the next night... so he kept it undone unless he knew he was going to have company that would be in his bed.

Melinda had a sleep smile on her face as they got into bed, Eli liked seeing her this happy, Melinda liked being able to smile for once and just not worry about anything. They laid down and Melinda automatically clung on to him, he put his arms around her and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead... still Sam plagued his mind.

“Melinda... Sam”

There was a short pause, for a moment Eli thought she had fallen asleep or was just going to ignore him “I give up..” she finally said her voice cracking slightly, “I can’t do it anymore Eli... it just hurts too much, he doesn’t remember anything... he doesn’t remember me” she couldn’t hold back the tears she had managed to hold back for the past week “I just wish Jim would have not done this and let me move on”

Eli felt Melinda’s tears soaked through his shirt, he wished he hadn’t brought it up, she needed a break from it and he ruined it by letting his mind run wild. He hushed her softly and rubbed her back, place kisses on her head as he tried to comfort her.

“I’m sorry... don’t think about that right now” he said “look at me” he shifted them so they were sitting up a bit more, Melinda looked at him her tear filled tired eyes meeting his “keep looking at me, I’m here, and I won’t go anywhere” he said, before he could stop himself he had leaned forward and kissed her.

He wanted to pull back right away, but Melinda had pulled him closer before he could, her lips felt right against his,  _ a kiss _ he didn’t think a kiss could feel this powerful, this amazing, this full of love and lust and pain. They pulled away Melinda resting her head on his, he felt guilty, she did too in a way... but she wanted Eli, she had for awhile, he had been so amazing and through it all he was there - he believed her, took care of her, checked in on her, how could she not fall in love with that?

“Eli?”

“Ye... yes?” he stuttered making Melinda giggle.

“Can we sleep now?” she asked.

Eli pushed away any conflicting feelings he had and answered with a nod. They laid back down and held each other close slowly drifting away together. Eli woke up first the next morning, to his phone ringing, he quickly grabbed it denying the call, until he felt the weight of Melinda still peacefully sleeping on his chest, he thought that it had all been some wonderful dream, he didn’t know whether to be happy it wasn’t or hate himself for taking advantage of Melinda's fragile state...  _ she wasn’t in the right place to be making thought out decisions _ .

He carefully moved her off of him and got up, he went to the kitchen starting the coffee pot and looking through his fridge to see if he had anything to make them other than a bowl of Fruit Loops and some outdated milk...  _ he was a mess _ . Eli found some unused (and surprisingly not out of date) eggs to make. He grabbed the pan and hoped he would be able to make Melinda a decent breakfast, he didn’t cook often but it was just eggs right  _ What could go wrong _ ?

‘ _ turn it on medium low to cook them, if you don’t you’ll burn them, also make toast its make it look like theirs more on the plate if there's two things _ ’ a voice said almost making him drop the eggs.

“Thanks for the advice but in the future don’t sneak up on me!” Eli whisper yelled at the whatever man had given him the advice, he seemed to be gone after that “at least their helpful for something” he muttered to himself as he followed the man directions and managed to not burn his apartment building down. He was planting things when he heard movement.

“Eli?” she asked, she was standing in the doorway of his bedroom wearing a shirt of his.

He sucked in a breath, it was so simple, she had just put on a shirt of his to probably get out of her shirt from last night... and it took his breath away. Eli stared at her for a moment before forcing himself to look back at the plate and keep putting food on.

“Yeah, I’m in the kitchen, just relax on the couch and I’ll bring you some food,” he said.

“Oh, thank you”

“Do you want coffee?” he asked as he poured himself a cup.

“Please” Melinda said through a yawn, memories of last night at the front of her mind - that kiss, how it seems to wake her up from the stump she had been in, woke up feelings that she didn’t know she had, there was guilt that came with it... but Sam only remembered little bits from Jim’s life... she was so done, she wanted someone who believed in her and her gift like Jim did... and that person was Eli... he wasn’t like Jim at all really, but he was loving, caring, he took care of her, he believed in her, and they had a gift that linked them together, she couldn’t imagine not having Eli in her life.

Melinda looked up as she heard glasses clinking together, Eli was blancing the plates on his arms while holding the cups off coffee, she quickly got up taking the plates from his arms and sitting down with him.

“You could have called me in to help,” she said.

“I know... I just wanted to bring you something to eat... It’s probably not that great, I don’t cook a lot for myself, I usually get take out and such” Eli explained taking one of the plates from her.

They sat on the couch and ate, both wanting to bring up last night but waiting in silence to see if the other would do it first. Finally, Melinda had to speak up but as she opened her mouth Eli seemed to find his voice.

“Listen, about last night...” he said looking down at his plate, he didn’t want to say what he was about to, he wanted to tell Melinda everything he felt, but it felt wrong, harmful, like he was taking advantage of her situation “I know you were in a vulnerable situation and I shouldn’t have kissed you... it's probably best if we just forget about it” he finished, he couldn’t look at her, he couldn’t watch her as she said that.

“Eli...” Melinda had a mixture of hurt and anger at Eli, hurt for him wanting to forget about it, anger for him telling her that he had taken advantage of her when he didn’t, she knew her feelings, even if she was tired and hurt last night over Sam she knew what she had been feeling for Eli “you didn’t use me, I wanted you to hold me, I wanted to be with you, and that kiss was -”

Eli got up and walked over to the window, taking a deep breath, “No, you’re going through a lot of stress and pain right now, and I understand you want comfort but I can’t be used like that, it will hurt too much,” he said.

Melinda felt tears gather in her eyes physically biting her tongue, did he not felt what she felt last night? the connection between them, it had to be something - from the start, it was always something with them “Eli...” she got up slowly walking over to him, she couldn’t give up on this, not easily.

“Maybe you should just go for now”

“Look at me and tell me you didn’t feel something last night,” she said, blinking the tears out of her eyes.

Eli stayed quiet, he couldn’t  _ why was she making this hard on him? _ he can’t look at a woman he loves and cares about so deeply and lie to her. Melinda places a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look at her.

“Tell me you didn’t feel it was right when we kissed” she inched closer to him.

“I can’t...” Eli swallowed, he looked into her eyes, from the beginning something drew him to her - not just the ghost and dealing with his gift, but the joy the radiated off of her, the passion she had about everything, even the loving look she gave Jim when he was alive - the same look she was giving him now....  _ how? _

This time Melinda wrapped her arms around Eli, tangling her fingers in his hair before pulling him down and pressing their lips together, there was so much love and passion in it. Eli hesitantly placed his hand on her hips before pulling her closer... she needed this, he needed this, they both needed this, needed someone who loved and understood them. Eli pulled away looking into Melinda's eyes.

“What about Sam?” he asked.

“He’s not remembering me... and I’m sick of feeling insane and looking insane to people,” she said, keeping her arms around his neck “I want you Eli...” she said.

“Really?” he gave a small laugh, he couldn’t believe it.

“We’ll go slow...” she said, “but I know there's something between us,” she added.

“Okay... we’ll go slow” he agreed, letting go of her and thinking, he hadn’t properly dated in so long “um... oh Dinner!”

“Dinner?” Melinda has a playful smile on her face as she watched him figure out what to do.

“Yeah, me and you, tomorrow?” Eli smiled looking nervously at her.

“Yeah... okay Dinner sound wonderful... you pick me up at eight” she smiled “I should go home so I can get dressed and get to work...” she walked over to him and kissed him gently on the cheek “don’t be afraid to come to visit before tomorrow” Melinda said before walking out.

Eli watched after her... he couldn’t believe what had just happened, he ran his hand through his hair and looked around, then he remembers the ghost that helped him “Um hey... the guy who helped me, did you need anything?” he asked.

_ “well now that you ask, yes,”  _ the voice said.

“of course” Eli mumbled “back to work”


End file.
